Lbequeath to number 1 of the ATP ranking It’s something that Rafa Nothinghe no longer had as one of his main objectives, but the situation has placed the Spanish tennis player very close to returning to the world throne, a privileged position that he left for the last time in february 2020. His triumph at Roland Garros triggered his aspirations after replacing the 2,000 Grand Slam winner points French at 720 from the semifinals of the previous year.
So, more than number 1, it only remained to wait for the chronic foot injury will improve and allowed him to continue with the season. Nadal recovered and appeared three years after his last appearance in Wimbledon, with the exception that in this edition the London tournament did not distribute points for the ranking, something that would have helped him to continue climbing. Despite the Rafa’s abdominal injurywhich prevented him from playing the semifinal against Kyrgios, the The main loser in terms of ranking was Novak Djokovicwho was the defending champion.
Now the current number 1, Daniil Medvedevhas predicted that his Spanish rival has all the ballots to continue rising: “Unless I win all the remaining tournaments, it will probably be Rafa Nadal who ends up as number 1”. It is difficult for the Russian to be relegated via loss of points by an injured Zverev, although for his part he must defend the 1,000 points won last year in Canada and then do the same at the US Open (2,000). For his part, he will go for it all: now he is in Los Cabos and then will go to Canada, Cincinnati and New York.
Nadal’s schedule
But what Medvedev says makes perfect sense, since Rafa, who has only played eight tournaments this year (four titles and five finals), last season, after Roland Garros, only participated in two games in Washington. That is to say, that between now and the end of the season he will practically only add. From the American tour, he plans to be present at the Masters 1.000 de Montreal (he’s won it five times) and then go to the US Open, skipping Cincinnati. He has not linked Canada and Cincinnati since 2013, since he prefers not to play a tournament in the week before a Grand Slam.
If it happens, most likely after the US Open
It must be taken into account that the Nadal is number 1 in the 2022 Race, with 5,620 points, for the 4,270 of the second, Carlos Alcaraz. If we look directly at the overall rankingthe Manacor He is 685 behind Zverev and 1,460 behind Medvedev. Mathematics says that the winner of 22 Grand Slams could rise to the top of the ATP and the August 22, tras Cincinnatialthough I don’t dispute it. For this to happen, Medvedev would have to do some disastrous tournaments and he would have to win in Montreal. to occur, the most realistic thing would be after the US Open, because Rafa will play there for 2,000 points. Medvedev will fight throughout the American tour for 4,250 points and defends 3,860. In other words, he has little margin for failure, although we must remember that he is number 1 for a reason.
Djokovicmeanwhile, would be out of any equation until next season if finally you can not play the US Open. With Wimbledon not computed, he was not this year at the Australian Open from which Nadal emerged victorious, so he is experiencing a year of constant loss of points.
